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University of Vaasa students outside on the seaside campus.

International Summer School

Do you want to learn more about entrepreneurship and venturing in an international context? The University of Vaasa Summer School on Entrepreneurship and Venturing will take place in August 2024. The three-week academic programme helps you gain essential entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in an international context.

Multidisciplinary Summer School by domain experts

The Summer School on Entrepreneuship and Venturing combines lectures, discussion sessions and workshops with practical activities lead by domain experts. The guest speakers of the programme include renowned academics as well as company representatives. Our instructors are experts in their fields and teach with enthusiasm and contemporary relevance. As it is a multidisciplinary course that invites students from different universities, you will get to work together with students from different fields and backgrounds. 

The Summer School takes place in Vaasa, also known as the energy hub of the Nordic countries. Vaasa is the educational, cultural and tourist centre of Western Finland, located by the sea near the Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage area. Our unique maritime campus is a short walk away from Vaasa city centre. Each week of the Summer School, we will organise extra-curricular activities in the beautiful seaside city and its surroundings.

Who is the Summer School for?

The Summer School is for students who are interested to build a global start-up or seeking to work at an established company with intrapreneurial competences sparking innovations that have the potential to address global market needs. We welcome students from different academic disciplines and  levels. The programme is in English, so you need to have fluent English language skills to participate.

The Summer School is free of charge for degree students from:

  • University of Vaasa 
  • VAMK, Novia, Hanken and Åbo Akademi and University of Helsinki Vaasa unit
  • Sheffield Hallam University 
  • our partner institutions including EUNICE, HERMES and GBSN networks, ERASMUS partners, Nordplus and bilateral exchange partners.

For students from other institutions, the tuition is 150 euros per ECTS credit.

Courses and Schedules

The University of Vaasa Summer School consists of three courses: Ideation and Venture Creation (3 ECTS), International Entrepreneurship (5 ECTS) and Start-up Scouting and Valuation (2 ECTS). You can sign up for all of the courses or select the ones you are most interested in. Some courses may include pre-learning activities.

Detailed schedule for each course / week can be found and downloaded below under each week's description before the course / week starts.

During this course, you will learn to understand the process of entrepreneurship from identification of problems, ideation and brainstorming to evaluation. After completing the course, you can apply different approaches for brainstorming and ideation, create early business models and know how to evaluate and pitch ideas. The course will include workshops, team work and individual work. 

Free of charge for students from partner universities. Tuition for others: 450 €.

Guest lecturers

Niall Shakeshaft,Vice President and Head of Design at VTT,  Technical Research Centre of Finland. Mikael Leppä, Head of Design from the Norwegian state energy company Equinor.

Course coordinator

Kuva
Mona Enell-Nilsson

Mona Enell-Nilsson

Senior Researcher
School of Marketing and Communication, Marketing
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
Puhelin
+358294498400
Toimisto
Tritonia T605
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The International Entrepreneurship course will help you understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship in an international context. You will learn how to discover, evaluate, and exploit of international venture opportunities. You will develop essential skills using various tools and frameworks during the entrepreneurial process with particular attention to applying brainstorming and simulation tools for sparking innovative ideas with the potential to address global market needs. In addition, you will learn how to set up an international business plan for the launch of a global start-up or a new international venture at an existing business.

The course will consist of lectures by academics, workshops/seminars, teamwork, pitching and presentations, individual work, and other collaborative learning activities to maximise learning outcomes.

Free of charge for students from partner universities. Tuition for others: 750 €.

Guest lecturers

Gary Knight is the Helen Simpson Jackson Chair and Professor of Global Management at Willamette University in Salem and Portland, Oregon, USA. Gary’s research emphasizes international entrepreneurship, internationalization, international marketing, and technology’s role in international business. Prior to academia, Gary was an executive in international business for several years.

Dirk Libaers is the John and Beverly Grant Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship and the director of the USF Center for Entrepreneurship at the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida. His research interests include technology and academic entrepreneurship, new product and service development in new ventures and established firms, and issues related to creativity and innovation. 

Dr Jules O’ Dor is the Subject Group Leader for Strategic Management, Enterprise & Organisational Change at Sheffield Business School in the UK and he leads the Managing Strategy module on all MBA courses. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of Higher Education Academy as well as being an active non-executive Director. His research is primarily concerned with the institutions of social and co-operative enterprise with a particular focus on the legal structures of social enterprises.

Course coordinator

Kuva
Liting Liang

Liting Liang

Associate Professor
School of Technology and Innovations, SC-Research
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
Puhelin
+358294498372
Toimisto
Fabriikki F204A
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By the end of the Start-up Scouting and Valuation course, you will have a more in-depth understanding of startups and their importance for disrupting businesses. You will be able to scout start-ups and analyse meaningful metrics that indicate successful performance and sustainable development of start-ups. You will learn how to identify and evaluate different start-ups and create rankings that can be used to predict company futures. The course supports the development of skills in the areas of analytical and critical thinking, collaboration in diverse teams and business research and analysis.

The course activities include lectures, investor and start-up company guest-speakers, workshops, individual and group assignments such as scouting and pre-evaluation of start-up companies.

The course is conducted in co-operation with EnergySpin Business Accelerator and VES (Vaasa Entrepreneurship Society).

Free of charge for students from partner universities. Tuition for others: 300 €.

Course coordinators

Kuva
Philipp Holtkamp

Philipp Holtkamp

Senior Specialist
University Services, Innovations and Ecosystems
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
Puhelin
+358294498585
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How to apply?

The application for the summer school has ended. Selected students will receive a letter of confirmation via email by the end of May. Please note that the application is binding and cancellation later than 1 August 2024 may result in a fee. Students from non-partner universities will confirm their participation by paying their tuition online.

The selection of students is based on their applications and the agreements made with some partner universities. Students participating for the first time will be prioritised in the selection. ECTS credits for a specific course can be only granted once.

Prepare for your stay

To ensure a smooth Summer School experience, remember to book your travels and accommodation well in advance. Please contact your local institution about the possibility to receive financial support to organise your stay at Vaasa.

There are many possible ways to travel to Vaasa depending on your departure location and travelling preferences. Usually the easiest way to reach Vaasa from aboard is to fly to the Helsinki airport and from there, continue with a flight to the Vaasa Airport or by train to the Vaasa train station. There are three daily flights from Helsinki to Vaasa and several daily train connections. Please visit the Finnish rail company VR’s website for more information about train connections. 

Remember to make sure you have all your travel documents up-to-date. If you are not a citizen of a Schengen member state, you will need a visa for your stay. The accepted students will receive the invitation letter needed in the visa application from the University. Please make sure that you have all the documents for the visa application well in advance, such as your passport, travel insurance, hotel reservations, flight tickets etc. More information about the visa requirements in Finland. 

GreenStar Hotel offers Summer School participants accommodation at discounted rates. You will receive more information about the prices and discount with the confirmation letter. There is the opportunity to share a room with other students if you are travelling as a group. It is recommended to book your travels and accommodation as soon as you receive the confirmation.

Questions?

Course coordinators will help you in matters related to course contents. In practical matters, please contact:

Kuva
Tiina Jokinen

Tiina Jokinen

Specialist
Yliopistopalvelut, Akateemisten yksiköiden hallintopalvelut
firstname.lastname@uwasa.fi
Puhelin
+358294498481
Toimisto
Ankkuri 3. floor (KP329)
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